quotation du jour: "though the people support the government, the government should not support the people. The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow-citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood." -- Grover Cleveland (US President, Democratic Party).
On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 8:52 PM, michael perelman <[email protected]> wrote: > Joseph Schumpeter wrote about the budget as the key window into society. > > Schumpeter, Joseph A. 1954. "The Economic Crisis of the Tax State." > International Economic Papers, 4; reprinted in Schumpeter, Joseph A. > 1991. The Economics and Sociology of Capitalism, ed. Richard Swedberg > (Princeton: Princeton University Press): pp. 99-140. > > > "... public finances are one of the best starting points for an > investigation of society. The spirit of a people, its cultural level, > its social structure, the deeds its policy may prepare -- and this and > more is written in its fiscal history." He cites Goldscheid. 1917. > Staatsozialismus order Staatskapitalismus. "the budget is the skeleton > of the state stripped of all misleading ideologies." > > > Following Schumpeter, the budget debates illustrate the kind of life > that the rich and powerful wish on the rest of society. Get rid of > the social safety net, destroy unions, turn the clock back to the > nineteenth century. And yes, a bloated military to fight in every > corner of the world. > > The one area that the Obama is willing to rein in military spending is > on medical care for the troops -- at least Robert Gates emphasized > that approach. > > What is weird is that virtually nobody with access to the public media > is talking sense. Even the unions seem to be swallowing the Kool Aid. > > > > -- > Michael Perelman > Economics Department > California State University > Chico, CA > 95929 > > 530 898 5321 > fax 530 898 5901 > http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
